Day Sixteen: Montgomery — From the Freedom Rides Museum to NewSouth Books, the Movement Never Left

Montgomery, Alabama, the state capital, is a city rich in American history and civil rights legacy. It played a pivotal role in both the Confederacy — serving as its first capital — and, a century later, the modern Civil Rights Movement. Montgomery is best known as the birthplace of the Montgomery Bus Boycott sparked by Rosa Parks in 1955, and as a central stage for leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Today, the city blends historic landmarks such as the Alabama State Capitol and Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church with a growing downtown, making it both a place of reflection and forward-looking civic life.

The forward-looking city was on full display at every venue we visited. This city, which had once been home to some of the most vicious racism our country has ever experienced, is now home to museums, bookstores and other institutions that made us marvel at its progress.

We arrived at the Freedom Rides Museum to be greeted by a reporter from WSFA, the NBC affiliate in Montgomery, and a photographer from the Montgomery Advertiser. Both took shots of the Saxon arriving and people coming by to ask questions and sign the Sign4ERA.org petition. The reporters asked about the purpose of the Driving the Vote for Equality Tour and the connection to the ERA. Mary Ann Gorman used as sound bites parts of the ABCs of the ERA:

E: it's about Economic Equality, Equal Pay and Pocketbook issues.

It's about Education today and tomorrow — and the Emerging Economy and future issues like AI and technology where we MUST End discrimination and stop it before it starts.

R: about Rights, Reproductive Justice and Personal Decision Making about health care especially — maternal health, access and coverage for women's reproductive services.

It's about the rights of individual victims of sexual violence including their right to sue those who rape and abuse them — it's about Epstein victims being heard and having full rights under the law.

A: ERA is for ALL people, women and men, daughters and sons; the ERA protects this generation…and the next.

The Saxon stayed parked at the Freedom Rides Museum providing an opportunity to talk with visitors. Among them were Carol Rapport-Sommer and Martin Sommer, from New York. Both were eager to learn about the status of the ERA and help get it firmly lodged in the Constitution as the 28th Amendment. Both were happy to sign their names to the Sign4ERA.org petition.

We headed to the Rosa Parks Library and Museum. Both inside and out people were engaged with the car as we invited them to sit in it and take photos and hear about the need for the ERA to be recognized as the 28th Amendment.

The Golden Flyer II then went to the Legacy Museum — a place not to be missed in Montgomery and universally recommended as a place to visit for an immersive experience with America's journey with racial injustice. Again, nearly everyone walking by signed the national Sign4ERA.org petition.

As the Saxon was parked across the street while we were at the Legacy Museum, a woman carrying shopping bags ran across the street and said, "I know this car. I've been reading about it. I know you're the retired . . . ." Susan Nourse filled in the blanks for her — a retired police chief.

The woman said that she was traveling in a tour bus, but had to come over to the car as she left the museum instead of going directly to the bus. She was excited to see the car and tell us that she knew the story of why it was there. She hopped right into the Saxon to get a photo taken, saying that she has three daughters and wanted the ERA in the Constitution. Off she went with Ms. Magazine in hand — with the article about the 1916 Suffrage Tour — a button, and a petition for others to sign after what was a one-minute interaction with a supporter now connected to ways she can help make ERA history.

The Golden Flyer II proceeded to the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor from 1954 to 1960. The church was the site of mass meetings to organize the famous Montgomery Bus Boycott. Our visit here was too brief, as we wanted to have the Golden Flyer II in place for our evening bookstore event.

When Alice Burke and Nell Richardson arrived in Montgomery in 1916, they were met on the outskirts of the city by a delegation of local suffragists who escorted them to the State Capitol for an open-air meeting. Their visit included a crowd of about 200 women at the YWCA's Easter Lily Tea, speeches at Oak Park, and — on Saturday evening — an open-air suffrage rally at Court Square, where they spoke directly from the Golden Flyer roadster. One hundred and ten years later, the Golden Flyer II pulled up to a bookstore right near that same Court Square. Some corners of a city never lose their purpose.

In the early evening, we arrived at The NewSouth Bookstore, a well-known independent bookstore located in the heart of historic downtown Montgomery — right near Court Square. It's considered one of the city's key cultural and literary hubs.

Like other independent bookstores that have hosted us, it is a community center for progressive activists. Founded by H. Randall Williams, from Alabama, and Suzanne La Rosa from New York in 2000 when it was the publishing house NewSouth Books, it is now a part of the University of Alabama Press.

It was a privilege to meet and be hosted by Randall, who is a well-known Alabama-based author, editor and publisher known for his extensive work on civil rights, slavery and Southern history. He founded the Southern Poverty Law Center's Klanwatch Project and has written or published over 900 titles. Jessala White, assistant manager, made the visit especially welcoming with wine and snacks.

Outside the bookstore, Alexis Martin commented as she was signing the Sign4ERA.org petition: "Women's rights, yeah, you've got to be a part of that since they don't exist anymore."

Charlene Thomas, Zonta District 11 member and organizer for the Montgomery stop, introduced ERA NOW and Jeryl Schriever at the start of the event — who had time to tell details about the story of Nell and Alice as described in her book, Driving the Vote for Women: An American Journey for Suffrage.

Afterwards, Charlene shared how excited she was to work with ERA NOW and spoke about the formation of Zonta after the 19th Amendment was ratified and commented: "You know what happens when ladies put themselves together and come up with 'Let's get this done'." She added that the Driving the Vote for Equality Tour was especially important because Zonta was one of the first organizations to endorse and work for the ERA when women decided they needed a civic organization because, as she said, "together we can move mountains."

Kathy Bonk reviewed the strategy to move a joint resolution that would recognize the ERA as the 28th Amendment, noting that Article V of the Constitution gives authority only to Congress and the States to amend the Constitution. She explained to the audience that the ERA was passed by Congress and ratified by the required 38 states, but it's stalled — which is why the Joint Resolution in Congress is needed, notwithstanding the arbitrary time limit.

Mary Ann Gorman highlighted the action steps people can take — by asking people they know to add their name to the Sign4ERA.org petition and getting others to sign. She encouraged people to download the petition from the Sign4ERA.org website and bring it with them to collect signatures at local events, especially the upcoming No Kings events across the country taking place on March 28.

The gathering at the bookstore ended, but no one seemed to want to leave. Some of us had trouble leaving as we waited for a new rental van to be delivered from Atlanta — replacing the one we drove to Montgomery that we discovered had a steering problem.